Pitch "Perfect"

Pitch Perfect is about an ongoing college a cappella rivalry . It follows the girls a capella group, The Barden Bellas, journey towards earning their spot in the national a cappella competition and earning the respect they deserve from their fellow singers. Throughout this film we see people from different social groups interact and learn to work together to form a unique a cappella group. The Bellas transform from their strictly traditional look to  expressing group showing each members individuality. This change is the reason for their success.

In the movie Pitch Perfect, there are various social groups which all have there own stereotype. The Bellas, Becca, and Fat Amy have their own stereotypes. 

The Barden Bellas
The Barden Bellas are presented to us as a sophisticated group of girls. Their costume for performing is a short skirt and blazer with an open shirt. A scarf tied around their necks tops off the image of an air hostesses. The open shirt shows cleavage which gives off a sexual look. During the pep talk before their performance, the leader is bitchy towards the members that are next in line to run the a cappella group.
"I can't believe The Bellas are being passed onto you two slut-bags when we graduate." The tone of voice used is assertive and rude which suggests that they are stuck up girls who are all about them selves. As they walked on to the stage to perform, The lighting is bright which highlights their clear skin and high locks portraying them as beautiful young women. The host makes a comment saying that "girls are only as good as they are as being doctors." This suggest that girls are no competition in the a cappella society. The song that they sing is very traditional, which adds to the stereotype of sophisticated.  The look and the vibe that The Bellas give off at the competition, inclines people to make assumptions about what kind of people they are. I have stereotyped them as sophisticated but sexual, stuck up and bitchy, aswell as carrying a traditional air around them. This is The Bellas from a glance.

The Barden Bellas at the previous years A Capella Competition.

Becca 
When we are first introduced to Becca, we are immediately aware that she is different from the average college girl. She is mixing her own music with a techno genre. Her clothing is simple-casual with a touch of punk rock. This is assumed by the checked shirt, black boots and leather bracelets that she wears. Becca's black fingernail polish and eyeliner stereotype her as a punk rock chick also. How she composes herself with her music and her attire, Becca has an alternative vibe. We see that she is different from others as instead of arriving to college with her parents, she is alone and transported by a taxi. Also, she carries her own bags to her room. This shows that Becca is independent and doesn't need to be surrounded by people to be herself. After she has set up her music equipment i.e. spin table, Becca's Dad comes in to check on her. Her independence and a bit of sarcasm is shown in the way that she talks to her father. "I didn't want to inconvenience you and Sheila. How is the step-monster anyway?" Becca uses this sarcasm when her Dad asks her how she got to the university.

Fat Amy  
Fat Amy has very unique stereotypes. She is confident, cocky, funny and speaks whatever is on her mind. "I'm the best singer in Tasmania, with teeth." This is the first thing she says when she meets The Bella's. She is straight up and isn't shy to boast about herself. Just by giving herself the name "Fat Amy" shows that she isn't bothered about what people think about her, as she named herself that so "twig bitches" couldn't call her it behind her back. She wears simple clothes and a casual ponytail. I think her attire works well with her outgoing personality as it does not distract you from her actions or what she says. Fat Amy is a very unique person. Sometimes she says inappropriate things without meaning to as she has no filter. "That's not a real word but keep trying". This comes with her self confidence and quirkiness. Amy's personality slightly conflicts her stereotype as the "typical fat girl". Usually you would expect people to call her names and say rude things, but with her attitude towards everything, Amy makes 'under-the-breath' comments about the other girls. *cough* slut, Twig Bitches, lesbeonest are a few examples of this. 

Further on in the film, after seeing a bit more of The Bellas, Becca and Fat Amy, their stereotypes grow into personalities.

The two original Bellas (Aubrey and Chloe) who have taken the reins over the group are the same traditional sophisticated girls who are always involved with The Bellas.  These two (especially Aubrey) are quick to judge based on first impressions at the a cappella auditions. They speak with proper pronunciation which upholds their original stereotypes. "The Trebles don't respect us, and if we let them penetrate us we are giving them our power." The way Aubrey worded this statement is classy and proper and is evidence that they are holding on to tradition. Although the girls that are accepted into The Bellas are not the typical "Bella Girls", they still stick to the traditional look and sound. "We don't stray from tradition". Due to the previous year, Aubrey is determined to stick to the ropes and keep The Bellas classy. Aubrey teaches the girls the same choreography which goes along with the same song, which she chocked on the previous year. Basically she is stuck in the past. 

Becca's stereotypes are confirmed as being alternative form everyone else. At the a cappella auditions she sang a different song to everyone else and also sat down on the stage while performing it. She does things in her own way. When Becca is selected into The Bellas, we can see the immediate contrast between herself and Aubrey as they have different personalities which are likely to clash. During the Bella's first practice, we see that Becca is straight up, "I'm pretty sure you need me more than I need you." By this we see that Becca is her own person and isn't afraid to speak her mind.

Fat Amy is continuously saying random statements about everything. "Sometimes i have a feeling i should do crystal meth, but then I think, hmm... better not." She is her own person and will change situations to suit herself. For example, during their practice Aubrey leads a cardio session. Everyone is running up and down the stairs while Amy is, as she called it, "horizontal running". We never know what to expect with Fat Amy. She is always speaking or doing something new. 

The Traditional Barden Bellas Look.

The New Barden Bellas Look.

At the end of Pitch Perfect, The Bellas transform into a different group. They no longer live up to the expectations that everyone holds over them. Aubrey looks past her previous experiences and asks Becca for help as she realises things need to change in order for them to have the best chance at winning. Their final performance takes everyone by surprise as it conflicts The Bellas stereotypical sophisticated bunch of girls. Their individuality was expressed in their new performance outfits (a mix of jeans, skirts or shorts and blazers, blouses or shirts) which still consisted of the neck scarves, though they all wore them in a unique way. The song choices were a mixture of old and new, upbeat and slow, which enabled the audience to become more attached throughout their performance. Instead of being the traditional Bellas, they brought out a new era which made a cappella history and brought the girls closer together than ever before.  

The Bellas during their final performance

The stereotypes shown at the start of the movie are three general categories which girls in society get cast under today: popular (The Bella's), alternative (Becca), and confident(Amy). Because the media represents teenage girls to society in this way, we start to think this is how we should be. Just pick a type of person and live like them. It shouldn't be like this. Although Pitch Perfect portrays a certain image of teenage girls at the beginning of the movie, it also allows young girls to see that when you accept people for who they are, even if you don't like some things they say or do, you will be able to focus on more important things. Girls need to discover their own personalities for themselves and not worry about not fitting in with certain people. Once teenagers start to live up the these stereotypes, society assumes all girls are like this, and expect nothing else from them. It shows the true meaning of individuality and how important it is to express it. The change in stereotypes throughout Pitch Perfect is a positive aspect for teenage girls to take away from this movie.